5 Minute Ergonomic Tune Up

5 Minute Ergonomic Tune Up

Healthbolt.net posted 5-minute ergonomic instructions on how to tune up your workstation. As Healthbolt describes, “Your body was made to run and jump, not point and click. While the latter may seem much ‘easier’ than the former, it’s not any easier on your body. Give your workstation a 5-minute tune up to make it more body-friendly. Spending this short amount of time to occasionally set things right can make you more efficient as well as save you money and years of pain down the road.”

Monitor – Realize that your head, supported by your neck and shoulders, follows your eyes. This spells trouble for everyone who’s monitor is too low, which, coincidentally, is almost all of us. We all still use desks that were made for writing on, except now we put computers on them.

Wrist Rest – This unfortunately named item is ubiquitous in the modern office. Problem is, it’s not a rest for your wrists. Your wrists contain all kinds of important stuff to make your hands work packed into a very small area. Look at the bottom of your wrist right now; you can practically see all that stuff. You know why? There’s no fat pad to protect it. Don’t rest your wrists for an extended period of time on anything.

Angles – Old and busted: back and elbows at 90°. New hotness: open angles and butts in seats. Elbows at 110°, sit all the way back in your chair with your sacrum against the back rest. No-nos are “perching” and “slouching”. Women tend to be perchers, men tend to be slouchers.

Mouse – Clean it. Laser, infrared, or rubber ball, pick it up and get the gunk off the bottom. Do it now and do it frequently in the future. That gunk can make your mouse less responsive, which will make you instinctively grip it harder in an effort to be more precise. Over time this can lead to nasty repetitive stress injuries.

Levels – The keyboard-only tray was invented by a chiropractor, I’m sure. Having your mouse up and away from your keyboard might be the worst possible thing you could do to your body while sitting in front of a computer.